TURTLE CREEK, PA -- Police came barging into a woman's home because they wanted to arrest the owner for the length of her lawn. A tenant, Robyn Ruckman, recorded the encounter. As she answered the door, police treated her rudely and started making demands. She told them her name but that wasn't good enough. They wanted her to produce ID.

After asking them to stay outside, police and health inspectors barged into her home.

"You know, I don't even see a nametag," Ruckman told the officer.

"I don't give a sh*t what you see. Go get your ID. You see that?! It says POLICE."

Police were performing a 12-hour roundup of the town's offenders, including the horrendous crimes of having uncut grass. The Lawn Nazis took care of business that day, and the streets were safe once again. Robyn Ruckman got off easy, as she was not the landlord. It was the owner of the long grass that was to be put behind bars.

Police Chief Mark Kessler, of Gilberton Borough, Pennsylvania, spoke briefly about current police academy training portrays citizens in general as criminals and threats to local law enforcement.

"When I go through the police academy, they treat everyone that you come in contact with is a criminal. Everyone with a firearm is out to kill you. That's what they teach us at the academy." He continued, "I have a real hard time swallowing that."

"That's why you have all these young police officers that graduate from these academies and they come out and they want to kick butt and take names, and ruin lives, over nonsense. They terrorize people over a turn signal, or having a brake light out. They want to search your car right away, they want to demonize the American people, the average citizen, the law-abiding citizen."

"I have better things to do with my time than worry about somebody who has a broken tail light," Kessler said. "That's nit-picking nonsense."

"We need to educate our police officers a lot better. A lot better," Kessler said. "What comes out of these academies is shameful, its really shameful."

Chief Kessler is perhaps best known for his advocacy of the 2nd Amendment Preservation Act, and promoting the Oathkeepers organization.

Gilly wrote:
Well Gilly if your saying most of the cops are bad then thats a nono. A big organisation like that will always have a few power mad freaks. But this is what makes me laugh about people..they hate the police until they are needed, then its yes sir no sir

CONCORD, CA -- Two roommates are seeking an explanation as to why a police officer shot their aging cocker spaniel during a neighborhood search for a suspicious person last week. Their 13-year-old dog, Kirby, barked at an officer who entered his yard and was subsequently shot. He has a bullet fragment lodged in his spine and will hopefully recover.

Zach Grimm and Dave Biller say that a week after the incident, they have received no explanation from police about why officers were in their yard. Worse, they said, they have not received an apology from the department.

"It's obviously pretty upsetting," said Grimm, 29, who said the dog has been in his family for about 10 years. "The officer who shot at him, after it was over he just sort of had this goofy look on his face, almost like a smirk, and then he left. No explanation, no apology or anything."

"I can't believe he's alive, to be honest with you," Grimm said. "I think he's trying to figure out what happened to him. He was just doing his thing, protecting his home."

Portuguese arrest Irish tourists for watching bingo

AN Irishman has told how he was among a group of 28 holidaymakers arrested in Portugal simply for watching a game of bingo where the top prize was a tin of biscuits.

Following an anonymous tip-off of alleged illegal gambling, police in the holiday resort of Albufeira swooped on the busy Yorkshire Tavern pub and arrested customers and the bar's owners.

Under Portugal's strict gambling law, even bingo nights require a licence.

An Irish holiday-home owner, who did not wish to be identified, told the Irish Independent he hadn't even been playing bingo and was enjoying a quiet drink when he was arrested.

"I was having a few drinks and just before I was about to depart the bingo started," he said. "Before I had a chance to leave, the first prize of a line by a 76-year-old man called Gerald was declared. Following that, the GNR (Portuguese police) started visiting tables and taking people's names.

"I was approached by a lady police office who I informed I was not participating but I was told I still had to go to the police station. I was shocked, I couldn't believe it," he said.

He said he and the other customers were held at the station for several hours last Friday night before they were told to appear before a local court on Monday.

Because he was not taking part in the bingo, the Irishman was ordered by the judge to make a €150 donation to a charity or face six weeks in prison. Those who had participated were ordered to pay €300 or face a three-month sentence.

LICENCE

"They said, under Portuguese law, those who participate and those who are on the premises are equally guilty. How could anybody, particularly foreigners, when they are entering a bar or restaurant, know that the premises has the appropriate licence?" he asked.

"My immediate thought was to sell up and move out and never return to Portugal," said the retiree, who owns an apartment in the Algarve.

"I hadn't been to the Yorkshire Tavern for a couple of weeks and I was just unfortunate I was there," he said.

Owner of the Yorkshire Tavern, Marianne Pittaway, said another Irish couple from Munster was taking part in the bingo but they were able to return home before the court hearing.

SAN DIEGO, CA -- A man faces up to 13 years behind bars, plus thousands of dollars in fines, for writing protest messages on public sidewalks using chalk.

"Always on city sidewalks, washable chalk, never crude messages, never vulgar, clearly topical," said Jeff Olson.

The city calls it "vandalism," and charged him with 13 counts. Some speculate that it was the content of his messages that has made him a target.

"I wrote 'No thanks big banks,' I wrote 'Shame on Bank of America,'" he said. "I was encouraging folks to close their accounts at big Wall Street banks to transfer their money local nonprofit, community credit unions," said Olson.

To top it off, he is prohibited from arguing in court that his messages were protected free speech. Judge Shore granted the city attorney's motion to prohibit Olson's attorney Tom Tosdal from mentioning the First Amendment, free speech, free expression, public forum, expressive conduct, or political speech during the trial.